Sunday, October 19, 2014

Lovely Fall Break

I don't know how real bloggers do it. I have a hard time keeping up with a few weeks of camping each year. I have posts at home that I wrote during the summer and was going to post as soon as I got home, but never did. I even think I have posts written from 2 summers ago that I never posted. I guess I still will, as the purpose of this blog is mostly just a family journal. Maybe real bloggers have faster WiFi. The connection while here sucks, and home doesn't seem much faster. Maybe next year I'll do better.It's Saturday, Day 3 of our 4 day Fall break. When you're used to camping for 2 and 3 week stretches, 4 days feels like a real ripoff. It's been lovely though and the girls and I are so happy to be here. Of course we're here all alone. Kev works Wednesday - Saturday nights, so he pulled us up on Wednesday night, got us all hooked up, then drove straight back to work. He'll come up in the morning just in time to help us break down camp and pull us back home. He seldom gets to camp much with us, but he never complains about getting us up here and often rearranges his own schedule to work with ours. He's sure a blessing to our family.We've had a great weekend. The weather has been glorious. Cool mornings and nights, but days have to be hitting in the high 60's or low 70's and sunny. The girls have reconnected with friends they made over the summer and have spent long days running, biking riding and playing. We're in a gorgeous spot right by the river, with a huge climbing tree. I can hear the cows mooing in the field next store. I find that charming.

Coalville's grocer still has fountain refills for 1 cents per ounce, bless their souls and hot dogs 2 for $1. So each day we've ridden our bikes into town and gotten a 44 ounce drink refill and a hot dog for $1. One buck even. Are you kidding me? That's practically free. Then we eat at a cool stone picnic table across the street at the County Courthouse. The girls think that's the best.

$1.00 lunch. Not bad.

Lily said she could do these kind of push-ups all day long.

Another extra fun thing we've done is learned to play the game Clue. I played it tons as a child of course, but had never taught the girls. They think it's the greatest thing ever. All the secrecy and mystery. They even taught their camp friends.

I've read some this trip, but I confess not as much as usual. My cute boss got me into the TV series "Person of Interest" and I shamefully have spent several hours each day plowing through Season 1. So exciting! : ) I've also worked on Brinkley's Halloween costume some. She's going to be the young Malificent. Her horns are done, beside being painted, and I have her jewelry completed. I've worked on the wings, but need to consult with Kevin on those. They're tricky!I almost forgot. I got a new bike for my birthday and have been breaking it in on this trip. It's been a hard transition for me. I LOVE my old bike. It's vintage (Kev says that's code for piece of crap) and really more my style. It has a great bell and a darling basket and a rack. I've loved it, but I finally had to admit that it's been on it's last leg for a while. None of the gears work, a couple of months ago one of the brakes went out. It does have pretty new tires, but Kev says they're worth more than the bike as a whole. My new bike is modern and sleek. When I got it it didn't have any extras, but Kev treated me to a new bell, a rack for the back, and a holder for a water bottle. Really, the only thing missing is a cute basket, which is why I had to attach a rubbermade container on the back with zipties to hold my mug. Gotta have a basket, after all. I think I'm going to get a bright yellow one to match it's racing stripes. It is a smooth ride and it's been nice to spend some quality time with it over the past few days to bond a little. We may end up forming a lasting relationship after all.

As always, we wish we could stay forever, but reality calls and we're heading home tomorrow. Not until night fall though. Can't give up a few more glorious autumn daylight hours. Happy winter's sleep ya'll.